One dark window

Twelve blessings and twelve curses. Twelve cards are the key to magic. Elspeth of House Brslen has a secret that could cost her her life. In her childhood, an ancient magic has penetrated her veins, slumbering in the so-called cards of providence and in the mysterious fog surrounding the kingdom of Kiks since the time of the ancient King Shepherd. Eleven years later, the girl's encounter with a pair of masked robbers sets off a chain of events leading to her participation in a dangerous adventure with the hallmark of treason. She and her companions must retrieve all twelve magic cards to cure themselves and the entire country of a dark curse. The secret trump card of the brave young noblewoman is the monster in her head, a mysterious creature linked to the dreaded Night Fury card, which has become the source of her infection and several unusual abilities. But an inscrutable, riddle-speaking monster has his own plans for poor Elspeth... This unusual debut blending fantasy with the genres of gothic horror and dark romance has drawn a well-deserved response from readers around the world, as has the subsequent second part of the author's King Shepherd novel trilogy. "A charming, haunting and utterly absorbing debut. Rachel Gillig has created a world that feels like an old, dark fairy tale you read on a stormy night." - Kirkus Reviews "The atmosphere is so thick it could be sliced. The author masterfully builds the tension between Elspeth and Ravyn, with the romantic line organically complementing the political intrigue and the constant threat of magical contagion." - Publishers Weekly "Fantasy at its best. A wonderfully described world full of magic, believable characters, a love line that is not the most important thing, and suspense on every page." - from reader feedback on Databazeknih.cz On its cover was Night Fury. My chin dropped and I rolled my eyes. I've read enough of the Old Book of Alders to know that there are only two copies of this providence card in the world, and that it hides powerful and terrible magic. If you have used it, you have gained the ability to speak into other people's minds. And if you've been using it for too long, the card has brought out your darkest fears. But it wasn't the reputation of the card that scared me, it was the monster. I stood over the table, unable to tear my eyes away from the horrible creature the card depicted. Rough fur covered his entire limbs and his hunched back to the tip of his tail. Huge, sinisterly curved claws protruded from the ghostly long grey claws. In face he was neither purely human nor animal, but something in between. I leaned in closer, the monster's fangs drawn to me, the crooked and sharp teeth looming behind the curled lip. His eyes devoured me. Yellow, bright as a torch, bisected by long cat-like pupils. The monster looked at me impassively from the card. Even though it was just a picture, I couldn't help feeling that he was looking at me as intently as I was looking at him. Trying to understand what came next was like gluing together a broken mirror. Even if the individual shards could be reassembled correctly, it would still not heal the cracks in my memory. The only thing I'm absolutely sure of is the touch of burgundy red velvet. The incredible softness of the edges of the Night Fury card as I ran my fingers over it. I remember the smell of salt and the piercing pain that followed. I must have fallen or fainted, because when I woke up on the library floor, it was already dark outside. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and when I sat down, I felt that I was no longer alone in the library. And that's when I first heard those horribly long claws snapping together. Click. Click. Click. I jumped up, looking around the library for the intruder. But I was alone. Click, click, click. It was only when the clicking sounded again that I realized the library was empty. The intruder has taken up residence in my mind. "Hello?" I called, my voice breaking. He spoke in a man's voice, hissing and growling at the same time, like sugar and whip - the tone both sinister and sweet, his words echoing in the depths of my mind. Hi. - excerpt from the book